Lifeline celebrates 40 years of reaching out

Event will honor four decades of growing service from Oceanside, Vista nonprofit

A nonprofit with three offices in Oceanside and Vista with dozens of programs ranging from juvenile delinquency prevention to mental health counseling is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Community members are invited to Lifeline’s annual meeting to celebrate its four decades of service from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at 200 Michigan Ave., Vista.

Lifeline’s board of directors will share its annual report and a visual timeline of the agency’s history. Former clients will talk about their experiences of how Lifeline changed their lives.

A group of North County residents started Lifeline in 1970 to address drug problems among area youth. Last year, Lifeline’s 200 volunteers and 75 full- and part-time staff members served 15,000 area residents.

“Lifeline started out helping kids in trouble 40 years ago and we’re still at it,” said Don Stump, Lifeline executive director. “We’ve grown and we’re proud of that.”

The agency has expanded to provide a wide range of services such as youth development and mentoring, employment services, domestic violence services, transitional housing, crisis intervention and emergency assistance.